The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' (1914)
Genre: Drama / Horror
Duration: 84 minuten / 56 minuten (dvd-versie)
Alternative titles: The Telltale Heart / Thou Shalt Not Kill / The Avenging Conscience / Gij Zult Niet Dooden
Country:
United States
Directed by: D.W. Griffith
Stars: Henry B. Walthall, Spottiswoode Aitken and Blanche Sweet
IMDb score:
6,4 (1.597)
Releasedate: 2 August 1914
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' plot
"The criminal haunted by tortures of the mind"
Based on 'Annabel Lee' and 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Edgar Allan Poe. A young man and his lover are so tormented by the man's uncle that they kill him. However, the torments don't end after that, as their guilt and nightmares filled with ghosts and demons drive them insane.
Actors and actresses
The Nephew
The Uncle
The Sweetheart
The Italian
The Detective
The Maid
The Grocery Boy
The Sweetheart's Mother (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
mrklm
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- 12546 messages
- 10557 votes
This review concerns the 84-minute version. David Wark Griffith skillfully incorporates elements from 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and Edgar Allan Poe's poem 'Annabel Lee' into (as the alternative title 'Thou Shalt Not Kill' suggests) a preachy melodrama. The happy ending is rather forced, but this film is certainly worth watching because it is the last film Griffith made for his epic masterpiece The Birth of a Nation (1915). The subtle acting and the effective use of close-ups to heighten the drama are striking. Henry B. Walthall, who would star in The Birth of a Nation, is excellent in the lead role, and Blanche Sweet plays the charming but somewhat naive love interest. Not a masterpiece, but a must for film historians.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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